New Year's Eve fatal Longmont hit-and-run investigation stalled

Police have few clues, no suspects

A memorial for hit-and-run victim Jason Grimmer, 16, is seen, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2012, in the 2200 block of Main Street.
(Matthew Jonas)

LONGMONT -- Jason Grimmer, 16, died on New Year's Eve in the roadway on the 2200 block of Main Street, not far from a fight he was fleeing involving his friends and another group.

A vehicle fatally struck the Denver boy and left the scene. That is where the certainties of the case end and no one has been charged in his death since the original suspect was cleared of the crime.

"I am interested in finding who did this to my Jason," said Cara Tedeschi, the teen's mother, in an email exchange with the Times-Call.

Her Facebook page features public posts of photos of her teenage son, statuses about missing him and her grief since his death, a photo of a tattoo of his name, and even a photo of a planned graffiti art mural one of his friends hopes to paint in his honor.

A photo of Jason Grimmer during a vigil for 16 year old Jason Grimmer Tuesday night Jan. 01, 2013. Grimmer died after being struck by a vehicle on North Main Street after a fight.
(
LEWIS GEYER
)

Grimmer's family has stayed largely out of the public eye while police investigate his death.

Investigators arrested Balentine, 19, of Longmont, in the days after Grimmer was struck, announcing that damage on her car and biological evidence collected from the car showed that it was the vehicle that struck and killed Grimmer. Balentine's pastor, Corey Seulean of Messiahville Baptist Church, became an outspoken advocate for Balentine, saying that she was in church at the time Grimmer was killed and that he and 30 others at the church were witnesses that she never left the building.

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Balentine's car was impounded when she was arrested and damage was ultimately attributed to a minor fender bender the Sunday before Grimmer's death when Balentine slid on the ice and hit a neighbor's car. The "biological matter" on the car was not biological, police determined.

Balentine is related to some of those who were involved in the fight that Grimmer ran from, according to police. However, Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said those who were in the fight have not been able to help police identify the vehicle involved. Detectives have been combing through surveillance video taken from businesses near the scene, but Satur said the quality of the video -- even when enhanced -- has not even allowed investigators to determine if the boy was hit by a car, truck or SUV. The video does show the vehicle was gone by the time the next wave of traffic reached the scene, so other motorists are unlikely to have seen the suspect vehicle.

"The car that appears to have hit Jason was ahead of our first witness on the scene to where they may not have seen that vehicle," Satur said.

In fact, police first sought another van that left the scene after Grimmer's death and determined it was not involved once it was found.

Satur said investigators still have video to review and are even hoping to match tire tracks found at the scene to a type of tire that may ultimately point to a specific type of vehicle. Satur said the motorist who struck Grimmer certainly knows he or she hit something on New Year's Eve. Damage to the vehicle would depend on how it hit Grimmer, he said. It is likely the motorist has told someone about the hit and run.

"At some point we're going to figure this out," Satur said. "Somebody knows about this accident and they are going to come forward with the information that solves this case."Boulder County Coroner Emma Hall said her office hasn't determined Grimmer's cause and manner of death yet because of the complicated nature of the case. Her office typically rules on the cause and manner of deaths within six to eight weeks, a process typically contingent on the results of toxicology testing. She declined to specify what about Grimmer's death is holding up the final ruling.

"This case it is a little more complicated than most, so it is going to take a little more time," she said. "I can't give out any details right now."

"We would encourage anybody with information to come forward with that information as soon as possible," Satur said.

Anyone with information about the hit and run is asked to call the Longmont Police Department at 303-651-8501 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Tipsters who provide information leading to arrest and filing of charges of a suspect may be eligible for a reward.

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